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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29244348">What Fire Is For</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stepOnMeZenos/pseuds/stepOnMeZenos'>stepOnMeZenos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XIV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Promare Fusion, Burnish Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Freeze Force Zenos yae Galvus, Gen, Pre-Zenos yae Galvus/Warrior of Light, Probably No Promare Knowledge Required, ZenoHika Week Winter 2021 (Final Fantasy XIV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:14:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29244348</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stepOnMeZenos/pseuds/stepOnMeZenos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zenos takes on a job to hunt down a runaway Burnish. </p><p>ZenoHika Week Winter 2021, prompt: Other fandom AU</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zenos yae Galvus &amp; Warrior of Light</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>What Fire Is For</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was going to be a Granblue Fantasy AU, then it was going to be a Hades (Video Game) AU, then it was going to be a Granblue Fantasy AU again, and now it's a Promare AU.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zenos pulled the trigger, and ice encased the Burnish cowering before him. Not even a shred of a fight in that one. As soon as Freeze Force hadarrived, they had given up and pleaded for mercy.</p><p>Disgusting. Where was the fire these Burnish were supposed to have? </p><p>“Good job,“ one of the lower ranks said as he closed the anti-Burnish handcuff around the Burnish's wrists. Behind them, a contingent of regular firefighters busied themselves putting out the last flames eating at a storefront. “You always deal with them so quickly!“</p><p>That was precisely the issue, was it not? </p><p>Without responding, he turned around and walked away, leaving his equipment behind where it lay in the middle of the street. Someone would pick it up in the cleanup process. He could not be bothered to lug it around himself. </p><p>It had been the third Burnish he had apprehended this week. All of them had been this boring. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I have a new assignment for you,“ Vulcan announced.</p><p>Zenos didn't bother looking up from his lunch. Vulcan didn't seem to like that or the lack of greeting very much; when he continued, there was a harsh edge to his words. “You're wasted on these routine missions, with all your recent successes. So we're sending you out of the city on a special assignment.“</p><p>“Mad Burnish?“</p><p>“We have no leads on them,“ Vulcan claimed. It was a bald-faced lie if Zenos had ever seen one, but he didn't bother calling it out. “There's an unaffiliated Burnish runaway though. We have reports of him committing a string of thefts at an outlying town. Clearly a miscreant that needs to be removed from society.“ </p><p>“Is he strong?“ That was the real question here. Vulcan plainly wanted him out of the way to pick on the Burnish in peace; he had been antagonistic ever since Zenos had beaten him to a group of Burnish and incapacitated them before he could arrive. It would be like him to send him out after yet another geriatric fugitive whose only thought was running away. Anything to get him out of his nonexistent hair so he could continue bullying the captured Burnish in peace—something Zenos had never tried to stop, but Vulcan seemed to feel otherwise for some reason. </p><p>“They say he is,“ Vulcan said. “Burned down an entire university a while back, I hear.“</p><p>A whole university, hm? That still didn't guarantee anything, but it was a start. Zenos pushed his half-eaten cafeteria meal away and stood up. “The details?“</p><p>There was a grin on Vulcan's face. He really wanted him out of Promepolis that much? Then perhaps this really was simply busywork engineered to take him away from the city for a while. But even so, the chance of it being even remotely interesting was worth it. Staying would not be any more interesting, with how middling-at-best most Burnish turned out to be. </p><p>The file that Vulcan slapped down on the cafeteria table was thin, a few pages worth of paper at most. “There, that will give you everything you need. Track him down and bring him back.“ </p><p>So he did. There wasn't much keeping him in Promepolis. Leaving on a moment's notice wasn't an issue for him. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Sorkhatu Buduga, Zenos learned as he perused the files on the trip to a town several hundred miles away from Promepolis, had been a student at a university about to finish his degree when he had awakened as a Burnish and incinerated the entire building he had been in at the time. After that, he had gone on the run, consistently evading pursuers. There were no indications he had any ties to Mad Burnish, but it seemed like his flames ran strong regardless… and the fact that he had been able to stay free for this long showed he wasn't stupid. </p><p>Interesting. </p><p>Supposedly, he had been seen out in this town (itself far away from the university he had attended) while stealing food from a local supermarket. The store owner had not dared to impede him, but had alerted the authorities as soon as the Burnish had left. </p><p>That would be his first stop, Zenos decided as his train pulled into the station. This Sorkhatu Buduga wouldn't make himself easy to find, but surely there were security tapes or some such to be consulted. With him as the hunter, the prey would not be able to stay in hiding forever. </p><p>Out of the train, into the streets and towards the grocery store. It was a dinky little building, cramped between a run-down adult toystore and a burnt out apartment building. The windows were in desperate need of cleaning; Zenos could barely see into the store from outside. </p><p>The store owner looked up at the discordant chime announcing him as a potential customer. “Welco—oh, are you with Freeze Force? Did they finally send someone to investigate?“ The tone of her voice suggested she felt an intense desire to add a heartfelt <i>finally</i> to that sentence, but she didn't say it. </p><p>“Yes,“ Zenos answered. “Repor—“</p><p>“Thank <i>god</i> you're here! It was so scary when he just walked in, I didn't know what to do at all so I just hid behind the counter… I thought he would burn down the store! They do that, I hear, just torch things down for the fun of it.“</p><p>They didn't, for the most part, not after their initial awakening. There were always exceptions, but in Zenos' experience, few of them directly attacked others for no reason. They only started when cornered, which was precisely what had driven him to join the Freeze Force in the first place. It hardly mattered what this shop owner thought, however, so he simply finished the sentence he had started. “Report what happened. I need every detail.“ </p><p>“Right! Right. He came in one day around noon, I think, and I didn't recognise him at first—he had a hood up, see, so I couldn't get a look at his face at first, and I asked him if I could help but he just mumbled something about doing fine on his own. That happens sometimes… they just come in, grab their things, hand me the money and be on their way, so I didn't think too much of it, right?“ She paused, as if waiting for an answer. </p><p>“Get to the point.“ </p><p>“Right! At once. So he went from row to row, mostly buying food and other essentials—toilet paper, shampoo, that kind of thing—and I was just sitting here, minding my own business, as I do when nobody needs me—I did notice he was being oddly cagey about his face when he came up to the register, though. Kept pulling the hood deeper into his face, and he looked downwards the entire time so I got a bit curious. I dropped something on purpose and when I bent down to pick it up, I saw… I'd seen him on the news so I recognised his face immediately. So naturally, I panicked...“</p><p>Over someone who clearly had no intention of doing anything, if he had gone to such length to avoid being recognised. What a pitiful person this shop owner was. </p><p>“...and screamed and dove behind the counter.“ The shop owner had the sense to look sheepish at the admission, at least. “I don't know what he did after that. When I gathered up the courage to look up, he was gone. I called the authorities right afterwards...“</p><p>In other words, the Burnish hadn't so much stolen as tried to buy supplies and left without making a fuss, even though he could have silenced the witness easily. That was less promising than the files had made him out to be. The ones who tried to come and go quietly without raising a fuss or drawing attention were never the ones who put up a good fight. </p><p>His explosive awakening remained a fact, however. It was worth a try. </p><p>“Security camera footage?“ he asked, though it seemed abundantly clear there was no such thing in this shop. And indeed, the shop owner shook her head. Naturally. He had not learned a single useful thing from coming here. </p><p>“You'll capture him, right? Lock him up so we're safe?“ </p><p>“If I am so inclined,“ Zenos said. Her face fell at that, but what reason did he have to care? He hadn't joined Freeze Force over faux altruistic concerns about the Burnish, nor because he hated them. It had made him immensely unpopular with his supposed 'fellows' already. Losing favour with this person didn't matter in the slightest. </p><p>Without a further word, he turned around and left the store. The discordant jingle of the broken doorbell heralded his departure. </p><p>The shop owner had given him no real leads, but that didn't mean he had nothing to go off of. The dilapidated quarter the grocery store was in was situated at the edge of the town. If the Burnish had chosen to make his appearance here, there was a good chance he was hiding out in the forests surrounding the town. Surely after going to such lengths to hide his face he would not risk dwelling among the people here. </p><p>It would be a setting Zenos could appreciate a great deal more than the dull cityscape. He wouldn't be able to take the full extent of his gear with him in there, as it wasn't made to navigate tight spaces, but wasn't that just a bonus, if anything?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It was quiet out here, among the trees. That was the first thing Zenos noticed. How very unlike Promepolis, which never slept; the street lamps never went out, the hustle and bustle of the city never truly subsiding. It had been a while since he had last left Promepolis. Without the promise of prey lurking beneath the leaves, however, it would have been dull to be here; it had been this assignment to provide him with reason enough to come. </p><p>Unfortunately, his prey was making itself scarce. </p><p>Zenos purposefully did naught to hide his presence in the forest, snapping twigs and making noise as he pleased, but the Burnish did not come out to meet him. There were no signs of habitation either; no footprints, no litter, not even burn marks—and surely a Burnish camping out in the forest would not be able to resist making a campfire, at least? </p><p>Had he been wrong?</p><p>It wouldn't mean failing the mission; in fact, this had been more of a guess than a real lead, perhaps, but he had never had the patience to conduct meticulous investigations. But the wait until…</p><p>The ground at his feet burst into flames. </p><p>He leapt backwards, coming away with nothing more than some soot on his clothes. Where was the Burnish? He had no time to scan his surrounding. More bouts of fire flared up around him, forcing him to dance back and forth. However, even if he was staying in hiding, he had to be close… </p><p>And there he was, a small shape standing between the trees, visible for just a moment before the flames obscured him and he was gone from sight, attacking from another angle. He wanted to play hide and seek, then? He could have that. </p><p>However, every time Zenos caught a glimpse of him and approached, a barrage of fire forced him back again. It would have been easy with his full gear, which had ways of dealing with Burnish fire. On his own, merely armed with a pair of suppressive handcuffs? All he had to work with was his own speed and strength. As it should be. </p><p>The next time the Burnish pelted him with flames, he charged forwards instead of fleeing—into the fire, and then <i>through</i> the fire. Short-legged as he was, the Burnish couldn't run away in time before Zenos grasped his arm and tugged him back. The superficial burns stung. He laughed. This was the first time a Burnish had managed to injure him. Oh, delicious pain… </p><p>And then the Burnish made it <i>better</i> by igniting himself. Zenos pulled his hand back before he could sustain heavy damage, but the heat still made his eyes burn. Magnificent!</p><p>The Burnish made to flee again. To hell with injuries—he wanted more. Zenos lunged and once more reached out to the Burnish, who burst into flames once more. This time, Zenos did not let himself be deterred. He reached into the fire, bracing himself for the pain, all for the—</p><p>The fire died down, leaving the Burnish to squirm pointlessly in his grasp. Zenos waited, but the blaze did not come back. “Why did you stop?“ he demanded. </p><p>“Let me <i>go</i> or I'll turn them back on.“ </p><p>Zenos tightened his grip. “<i>Why did you stop?</i>“ </p><p>Their surroundings burst into flames tree by tree, but while the heat rose to oppressive levels, none of the fire jumped over to Zenos, not even when he pulled the Burnish closer to himself. By now, it would have been easy to slap on the handcuffs, but this wasn't <i>right</i>. The explosive fury of the flames he had witnessed could not possibly fizzle out like this. </p><p>“Go away, do you <i>want</i> to get burned?“ </p><p>“Stop playing games,“ Zenos growled. “If you don't wish to be captured, <i>fight back!</i>“ Why wasn't he bursting into flames? Why wasn't he doing anything? The one time he had found a Burnish who could actually keep up with him…!</p><p>“Do you have a death wish?“ The Burnish tried to yank his arm away again, to no avail. Then he stilled, squinting at Zenos. “If you won't let me go, you can forget about any more fire.“</p><p>“You are just going to run if I let you go.“</p><p>“Isn't that exactly what you want? A hunt?“ The flames died down around them, presumably stifled by the Burnish. “I know your face. I've seen you on the news. You're the one whose life goal it is to hunt us down.“ </p><p>That was indeed what people said of him, and the reason Vulcan had tried to involve him in his schemes. It wasn't quite correct. “I want a <i>challenge</i>,“ he said. “And you are my best bet for finding it.“ </p><p>There it was, the spark in the Burnish's eyes that hinted at the willingness to fight. Ablaze with fury and flames alike… “You've been capturing my people for <i>that</i>? If you wanted to die by fire, you could have just grabbed a gasoline canister and some matches.“</p><p>“And where would the fun have been in that?“ Zenos leaned forward. “If you do not stop me here and now, I will continue doing as I have.“</p><p>“Will you? Or will you stay and try to goad <i>me</i> into giving you what you want?“</p><p>Zenos considered the idea. Certainly, this Burnish had shown far more promise than any of the ones he had faced before, and unless he came face to face with Mad Burnish it was perhaps unlikely that he would find another like this. Did he really want to return to that drudgery? No. However, if the threat against his people, as he had put it, hadn't worked to provoke him enough, then what would?</p><p>“'Tis a stand-off we find ourselves in,“ he mused. “You will have to fight me to deter me from continuing, and you do not wish to… and yet, you have the right of it; I do not intend to leave without getting what I want. Neither of us can meaningfully make good on our threats.“ </p><p>It was an interesting dilemma in its own right. He was unaccustomed to attempted blackmail. People tended to give him what he wanted, either right away or after a little bit of convincing. This Burnish, tiny and of unthreatening appearance, had courage. </p><p>Said Burnish narrowed his eyes at his words. “What you're saying is, if I refuse to… what, burn you? Then you will continue with your so-called <i>work</i> unimpeded.“ </p><p>“Then you will—“</p><p>“Fuck you,“ the Burnish said. “Do you think I've lived like this for so long because I was fine with burning people willy-nilly? That's not what the fire is <i>for</i>.“</p><p>What it was for? Zenos frowned. What a strange thing to say. Fire existed to consume mindlessly. “You would refrain from stopping me?“</p><p>“What difference does it make? It'll be you, or it'll be someone else from your clown troupe. I can't exactly take all of you out, even if I was willing to compromise my principles. Besides, you said it yourself. It's a stalemate. You'll try to egg me on, and you can't do it by threatening my people, because you won't leave me to run off.“ </p><p>“I could shackle you and hand you over to be imprisoned with the rest of you.“</p><p>“And you won't, because that will <i>bore</i> you,“ the Burnish said. “I'd like to have your problems, if boredom is your main issue...“ </p><p>What an exceedingly odd thing to say. Boredom leeched the light out of all things, turning life into a series of increasingly dull and pointless drudgeries. Who would ask for that? To suffer was preferable… and he would not go back to that life. In that, the Burnish was correct. </p><p>“A deal, then,“ Zenos said. “I will dismantle Freeze Force from the inside and free your people. In exchange, you give me what I want.“</p><p>“<i>What?</i>“ </p><p>“You heard me.“ </p><p>“You—do you know what you're saying?“ The Burnish shook his arm. “Let go. I won't run.“ </p><p>He sounded sincere about it, so Zenos obliged. Indeed, the Burnish didn't attempt to flee. Instead, he beckoned for Zenos to follow him and led him out of the scorched ring of trees. Though the flames had died down before they could get out of control, the immediate vicinity of their fight looked rather worse for the wear. Disappointing that Zenos had not been permitted to face such fury yet… </p><p>The Burnish led him to a rocky overhang situated between two gnarled old trees. In the space underneath, a sleeping back and some scattered supplies were lined up against the wall. </p><p>“You want to dismantle your own organisation,“ the Burnish said after sitting down on his sleeping bag. “Free the Burnish. For the 'priviledge' of being roasted alive?“</p><p>The overhang was too low for Zenos to enter, so he settled down just outside instead. “What else would I want? Surely you, as a Burnish, should understand that.“ </p><p>“Not in the slightest.“ The Burnish shook his head. “You have issues. My name is Sorkhatu, by the way.“</p><p>It had been in the files, of course, but somehow, him introducing himself made it feel more like… his name. </p><p>“Suppose I accept,“ Sorkhatu said. “How do you plan on doing any of that?“ </p><p>“Murder.“</p><p>Sorkhatu rubbed his forehead. “Somehow, that is an answer I saw coming. Right. I promised myself I wouldn't burn anyone with my flames, but if you're asking for it, I… suppose I can make an exception?“ </p><p>“Does that mean you agree to my offer?“</p><p>“Yes. Don't make me regret it.“</p><p>Zenos smiled a rare smile. This was not what he had come for; he had expected a fight, not bartering for one. He would nonetheless walk away from this encounter having more than he had had before coming here.</p><p>Gaining something to look forward to, it turned out, made a far bigger difference than he would ever have anticipated.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments appreciated.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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